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Chinese culture

Chinese culture
Latest news and updates on Chinese culture including the country’s traditions, food, values, history and festivals.
A painting depicts Yang Guifei being attended to by a court maid. The princess, regarded as one of the “Four Beauties” of ancient China, has gone down in infamy for contributing to the end of the Tang dynasty. But is this point of view fair?
Chinese history

Who was Yang Guifei, the Chinese beauty blamed for toppling a dynasty?

One of ancient China’s ‘Four Beauties’, Yang besotted an emperor, was the target of a rebellion, and in death became a tragic romantic icon.

US-China relations

How Chinese drink chains are testing the limits of soft power

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Food and Drinks

Prawn toast as a Scotch egg? How UK chefs are reinventing a Cantonese classic

China travel

How China’s ‘Excalibur of the East’ souvenir swords sparked airport warning

Tourists with replicas of the ancient Sword of Goujian, from the Hubei Provincial Museum, were told not to hand-carry them onto planes.

Visitors take photos of the ancient Sword of Goujian at the Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan, in central China’s Hubei Province, on May 17, 2026. An airport notice at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport warning not to hand-carry replicas of the sword on board planes has gone viral on Chinese social media. Photo: Xinhua
Food and Drinks

This Edinburgh Chinese takeaway is ‘dying’. Meet the daughter out to save it

Opened in 1997, China Star has weeks to turn things around before it sinks. Can the founder’s Instagrammer daughter Lisa He serve up success?

Hong Kong society

Student recalls eye-opening trip with American peers that drew praise from Xi

CUHK undergraduate Liu Runjie describes how Chinese and US students reached common understanding during youth exchange trip.

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US-China relations

Opinion | TV coverage of Trump’s visit showed Americans how ordinary Chinese live

If the Xi-Trump summit gave Americans a clearer picture of contemporary China, that may prove to be one of its more enduring achievements.

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People walk past a TV screen broadcasting US President Donald Trump’s visit, in Beijing, China, on May 14. Photo; EPA
Food and Drinks

This legendary Chinese snake soup was all but lost. How 2 chefs are reviving it

Once the centrepiece of political and business gatherings, Taishi five-snake soup is making a return in a form more suited to the modern era.

Food and Drinks

95-year-old dim sum chef launches menu of forgotten items in Hong Kong

Foo Shing looks back on an astonishing life as he opens up about items featured in Tim Ho Wan’s nostalgic dim sum series.

Hong Kong society

Editorial | Cheung Chau Bun Festival flies flag for Hong Kong’s cultural heritage

The festival’s success adds momentum to the citywide heritage promotion drive aiming to bolster the city’s cultural identity.

Spectators take photos as fireworks sparkle after the bun scrambling competition final at the annual Bun Festival in Cheung Chau on May 24. Photo: Karma Lo
Performing arts in Hong Kong

Review | Hong Kong Dance Company’s ode to Wu Guanzhong paints a confusing picture

‘In Between – Wu Guanzhong’s Ink Odyssey’ might celebrate the great Chinese painter but provides little inspiration to discover his works.

The “Spirit of Trees” scene from “In Between - Wu Guanzhong’s Ink Odyssey”, a Hong Kong Dance Company performance that premiered at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre on May 22, 2026 (Photo: Henry@S2 Production; Mak Cheong Wai; Kenix Chan)
Hong Kong society

Bun king and queen scramble to victory once again at Cheung Chau festival

Kwok Ka‑ming wins the men’s crown for the 11th time while Janet Kung also successfully defends her title.

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Food and Drinks

A Vietnamese-American’s quest to make the perfect Peking duck

Radiologist Hong Pham’s dedication to making roast duck has seen him start his own catering business and even cook the bird at weddings.

China’s Communist Party

Video | How a rural French town became the cradle of Chinese communism

Late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping was among the many Chinese students who studied in Montargis in the early 20th century.

Late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping was among the many Chinese students who studied in Montargis in the early 20th century
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Chinese history

The dark story of Consort Wan, 17 years older than the emperor who loved her

Wan Zhen’er became a beloved consort of Emperor Chenghua against all conventions, but records indicate a pernicious side to her tale.

Tavia Yeung (left) as Consort Wan Zhen’er in a scene from The Emperor’s Harem (2011). Wan Zhen’er rose from child servant to Emperor Chenghua’s beloved consort. Photo: Lafeng Entertainment
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | The earliest Chinese irons date back over 2,000 years. Here’s how they evolved

Long before electric irons, the Chinese had already developed sophisticated methods of pressing and smoothing garments.

Hong Kong

Origin of Hong Kong’s ‘peace buns’, Cheung Chau Bun Festival’s iconic snack

‘Ping on bao’ are both happily eaten and the focus of the festival’s famous bun scrambling competition. One baker explains how he makes them.

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Food and Drinks

The Hong Kong chefs serving up East-West fusion food without the stigma

We meet three Hong Kong restaurant pioneers who are elevating the maligned food trend by serving French and Nordic dishes with Asian accents.

Chinese liangpi noodles done in a Nordic style at Aera, in Hong Kong’s Sheung Wan neighbourhood. Chef Chevalier Yau’s restaurant is one of a handful in the city that are removing the stigma from fusion food, which has been dismissed by serious chefs in recent years. Photo: Instagram/aera.hk
Art

Soft Hours: artist Juno Shen’s Song dynasty teahouse for today’s New Yorkers

An ode to slow living that dovetails with ‘Chinamaxxing’ trends, the fully functional artwork/retreat serves teas that change according to the seasons in keeping with ancient Chinese beliefs.

Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | How Got7’s Jackson Wang went from Hong Kong fencing prodigy to global music icon

One of the world’s most prominent Chinese singers, Jackson Wang was a star fencer before his music career exploded with K-pop boy band Got7.

Food and Drinks

The story of Snow Garden, Hong Kong restaurant loved by the rich and famous

Frequented by people such as Run Run Shaw, Jet Li’s wife Nina Li Chi and Macau’s Stanley Ho, Snow Garden continues to delight Hongkongers.

The Snow Garden Restaurant in North Point, which brought Shanghai-Huaiyang dishes usually reserved for private clubs to the general public, opened in the 1980s and served as the chain’s flagship until 2009. Photo: SCMP
Food and Drinks

A food critic’s top Hong Kong restaurants for sushi, Cantonese and Chiu Chow

Entertainment journalist Eileen Cha, who grew up on Cantonese and Hunanese food, says she has a split personality palate.

Ho Ho Chak, which means “delicious” in the Teochew dialect, is a popular Chiu Chow restaurant in Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui district.
Books and literature

She rejected her Chinese heritage as a child. Now, she writes about it

Scottish-born Eliza Chan, who once dropped out of medical school, is a fantasy writer who marries Eastern myths with Western folklore.

Performing arts in Hong Kong

East meets West in melodic concert blending the suona with the organ

Organist Eric Chan will make his Hong Kong debut in a programme that marries the Western pipe organ with the suona, a Chinese woodwind.

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Style Edit

Style Edit: Hermès’ revamped Elements store is a cosmology-inspired escape

The maison’s revamped boutique in West Kowloon layers phoenix-inspired ceramics, stylish salons and curated art into a calm, fable-inspired setting.

A phoenix feather-inspired facade graces the outside of Hermès’ Elements store in West Kowloon, Hong Kong. Photo: Handout
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Why Alex Law and Mabel Cheung’s nostalgic films are among their finest

Two of the most poignant movies by life partners Law and Cheung explore migration and memory, and star the likes of Sammo Hung and Simon Yam.

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Simon Yam (left) and Sandra Ng in a still from Echoes of the Rainbow (2010).
Chinese zodiac predictions

Is the Year of the Horse’s fourth month lucky for you? Forecasts for all signs

Feng shui master Andrew Kwan breaks down this lunar month’s prospects for all 12 Chinese zodiac signs in work, finances, romance and health.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | How the Chinese did laundry before washing machines: ash ‘soap’, stone beatings

Before chemical detergents and modern equipment, Chinese people kept their clothes clean with little more than river water, wood and ash.

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